Camel Company out in the cold
Tue 23 May 2006
Alexia Rumley, Journalism
The development of a new multi-million dollar resort on Noosa’s North Shore is forcing the Camel Company off its property and igniting an environmental impact debate.
Noosa Shire Councillor, Frank Pardon said the Camel Company was being unfairly persecuted.
“There was nothing wrong with the camels being on the North Shore, it was all a power play. The greens decided to push the camels off because they were a non-native mammal,” Cr Pardon said.
Camel Company owner and proprietor, Dave Madden said he had been having trouble finding a new base for his camel-riding business because green groups and developers said the camels damaged the environment and they wanted them off the North Shore completely.
“The Noosa Parks Association and the developers believe the camels are ruining the environment based on an incident a few years ago when some of the camels ate and ring barked some trees,” Mr Madden said.
He said the ring barking of the trees was not an offence and the camels had been fenced in to prevent it from happening again.
“Destruction of the environment by livestock was not an offence and the camels have been fenced on two acres for the past four years,” Mr Madden said.
Cr Pardon said it was this incident that allowed the developers to gain the ownership of non-conservational land.
“If the camels had not ring barked the trees, Petrac [the developer] would not have got non-conservational land for the development,” Cr Pardon said.
He said Petrac’s claim the camels had a direct impact on the environment was unfounded.
“Camels do not have a direct impact on the environment, they have no impact because they have soft padded feet,” Cr Pardon said.
The Queensland Government Department of Environment and Heritage Invasive Species Unit’s assistant director, Rodney Atkins said the soft leathery feet of the camel was less damaging to the environment than the hooves of a horse.
“Camels do not appear to have a major impact - their padded leathery feet do much less damage than hoofs of livestock and other feral animals such as horses and donkeys who are serious environmental pests - causing erosion and damaging vegetation with their hard hoofs,” Mr Atkins said.
Mr Madden said it was ironic the Noosa Parks Association and Petrac were blaming the camels when there was evidence that horses had more environmental impact.
“Petrac not only runs its own horse tours but it allows pony clubs and equestrian groups to come out and stay. That is up to 30 horses staying there and if they go out three to four times a day that is more than 120 horses walking each track each trip and they talk about impact,” Mr Madden said.
Petrac told council earlier this year that the company is developing an eco-tourism resort and camels do not fit the image. It also says the local community was consulted during the process and they "expressed strong views that the camel operation conflicts with the Noosa North Shore location".
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